One of the two doctors charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman said she initiated the encounter by pulling him out of bed, but that he passed out before sexual intercourse, after a night of hard drinking.

Dr. Amitabh Chauhan testified Monday at the trial that he went to bed to “crash” after returning to the hotel with his friend and the complainant, then a 23-year-old medical student. He said she pulled him out of bed and the pair began “making out.” He said at no time did she tell him to stop, but that he was not able to perform.

“I was aroused and it was escalating, however quite frankly I was quite spent, I was wasted, physically I didn’t get any further than that myself. I wasn’t able to have an actual erection — I was just completely drunk at that point and tired. Physiologically it just wasn’t going to happen,” Chauhan told the court.

Chauhan, 36, and Suganthan Kayilasanathan, 36, a doctor and close friend, face charges of gang sexual assault and administering a drug with intent to stupefy.

The Crown, in its opening statement, alleged both men simultaneously sexually assaulted the woman, whispering in her ear phrases such as “dirty girl” and “don’t you like this.” Saliva from both men was found on her clothing, including the crotch of her pants, and on her genitals, the Crown said.

Last month, the judge-only trial heard from the 26-year-old complainant, who was a medical student seeking mentorship in the same specialty as Chauhan. The complainant testified that she began to feel weak upon returning to the hotel room after a night of drinking and lay down on the bed, unable to stand. She said Chauhan stood over her and pressed his weight down on her, whereupon she said “Wait! Stop! Aren’t you married?”

She told the court she struggled to move and tried to get to the other bed, when she felt a sharp pain in her buttocks before blacking out.

Chauhan told a different version of the night, denying that she had told him to stop. He said he was the one in bed, passed out drunk, before she approached him.

Chauhan said he and the complainant had both a professional and social relationship and he invited her out that night to socialize.

“We were going out to party, that was it. She had suggested we go grab drinks prior to this. This was a night off, we were social, we were friends. I considered her a friend, a social colleague, so this became an opportune time to get drinks,” said Chauhan.

He, the complainant and Kayilasanathan spent the evening at a downtown Toronto club on Feb. 13, 2011. The group returned to the Sheraton Centre hotel, where Kayilasanathan and Chauhan had booked a room, having come in from Hamilton.

On returning to the hotel after the club closed, Chauhan told the court, he passed out in bed, while someone else put on music.

He said that after the encounter with the complainant, during which he performed oral sex on her but couldn’t do more, he eventually crawled into the other bed and fell asleep. He told the court he heard Kayilasanathan “rretching” and nothing more until waking up shortly after the complainant left.

“At any point in this interaction with her, did she suggest that she did not want to continue having sexual contact with you?” asked defence attorney Marlys Edwardh.

“No, she did not,” he responded.

After the two men were charged in 2011, they hired Navigator Ltd., a public relations firm, to manage their exit from prison and first public comments, at which Kayilasanathan said they planned to defend the allegations “very vigorously.” Kayilasanathan has not testified.

Chauhan is facing additional charges in connection with a woman who came forward after the 2011 charges were laid, alleging he had put something in her drink and sexually assaulted her in 2003. His testimony on Monday began to address those allegations.

Kathryn Clarke, a spokeswoman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, said Chauhan’s licence expired June 30, 2011. Kayilasanathan is currently practising. The college is investigating both doctors, she said.

Chauhan’s is expected to continue testifying Tuesday, followed by the Crown’s cross-examination.